Dishwashers have become an integral part of everyday household use. A typical dishwasher uses detergent, released from a detergent dispenser, in combination with wash water to clean dishware contained therein. A user deposits detergent into a detergent dispenser reservoir, closes the detergent dispenser door, closes the dishwasher door, and then runs the dishwasher cycle. During the cycle the detergent dispenser door opens causing detergent to flow out into the dishwasher tub to be mixed with water.
However, with reference to FIG. 2, some detergent often remains in the dispenser. Therefore, some dishwashers employ spray arms to spray water jets into the dispenser reservoir to force the detergent into the tub. The variety of dishware and the randomness of loading patterns used by the consumer may, however, cause this technique to have reduced effectiveness. For example, sometimes, users wash dishware, such as a soup pot, which are large enough to block the spray arm jets that were designed to remove detergent from the detergent dispenser. When the jets are sufficiently blocked, the detergent may stay in the dispenser instead of being used in an appropriate manner during the total wash cycle.
Detergent that remains in the detergent dispenser is ineffective in cleaning the dishware and may cause subsequent rinse cycles to become ineffective due to detergent contamination. Furthermore, eating from dishware with detergent left on it may result in sickness. Thus, there is a need for techniques for improving the removal of detergent from the dispenser during operation of the dishwasher.